Saving Spike
by Todd's Pet
Summary: What would have happened to Spike if he'd met a friend before he ever got to Vegas? My wishful-thinking alternative universe!


**Author's Notes:**

**After watching Vegas I just can't get Spike out of my head, and no, not just the back tatts and spine! I'm actually thinking of those scenes of him as fully Wraith in the dart – don't you think he looked like a young Todd? Spike was scared and lonely and I wondered what would've happened if he'd run into a friend before he even got to Vegas? Although this is about Spike and getting him back to his hive, it's not about Vegas at all, so it's questionable whether it could be considered a spoiler or not.**

**Saving Spike**

Babs loves the desert; it's so peaceful being out here all alone, nothing but her and million-year-old rocks. But then she knows that only an archaeologist like her gets excited about old stones. She's lost in her thoughts when she becomes aware of a high-pitched whine getting louder and louder. She shields her eyes with her arm as she looks up at the sky and sees a plane hurtling to the ground about a mile up ahead. She takes off in her jeep toward the impact. By the time she gets within a few yards of the crash site she can see that this is no plane. The bits of craft scattered around are like nothing she's ever seen before.

Then she sees him, sprawled on the desert floor, gazing up to the heavens. She'd call him a man but she can clearly see that he's not. For starters he's green. Oh, God this can't be happening – she's found an alien! Timidly, she creeps closer. He's unconscious but she can see his chest moving, so at least he breathes. Then she sees the red liquid oozing from the side of the thick black leather coat he's wearing. He bleeds as well - she has to help him!

It's a struggle to lift him into her jeep – he's slim but he must be about seven foot tall and that leather armour stuff is heavy. She realises that the debris from his craft could attract unwanted attention so she hauls her spade from the jeep and starts digging. By the time she's buried the craft and got the alien back to her trailer, it's already dark but he's still unconscious and after struggling to get him onto her bed, she's exhausted.

But she can't sleep yet; he's still bleeding. Forcing herself to go on, she pushes and pulls until she gets the heavy overcoat off him. The bleeding is coming from his side, and he's covered in smaller wounds, so she decides it'll be far easier to just strip him and wash him down so she can see what needs to be treated. She watches him carefully as she works on him and is amazed to see his smaller wounds heal themselves. Even the big wound in his side is healing incredibly fast. She continues to wash the dirt and blood off his translucent green skin, studying him as she goes. He doesn't seem so different, she thinks, until she comes to his hands. Turning them palm up to wash them, she's intrigued by a strange orifice in his right palm. What on earth is that for, she thinks?

At last she's finished and covers him with a spare blanket. His breathing is smoother and steadier and she's happy that she's done the best she can for him. She sits at the bottom of the bed, meaning to watch over him until he comes round, but she gives in to exhaustion and falls asleep.

**-oOo-**

She's shocked awake by a sudden violent movement and opens her eyes to see an angry green face with snarling sharp teeth and glowing yellow reptile eyes looming towards her, hand poised to grab her! She dives sideways off the edge of the bed, grabbing the table lamp as she goes. She rolls across the floor onto her knees and staggers to her feet. Finding her back to the wall, she brandishes the table lamp in front of her, and realises that her attacker is the alien man she rescued last night.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she screams at him, "I helped you!"

The alien stops in his tracks, hand still held poised in the air. He looks at her, frowning, then looks down at himself and realises he's completely naked. He looks back up at Babs and she's not too sure if he's embarrassed or angry.

"You were wounded, I had to clean you up," she offers by way of explanation with no idea whatsoever if he can understand a word she's saying.

Not taking her eyes off his eyes for a second, and still holding the table lamp as if it were a weapon, she reaches down to the floor and rummages around the pile of clothes there. She picks up his pants and t-shirt and holds them out to him.

"They're still dirty; I haven't had time to wash them for you…"

The alien tilts his head to one side and, in a deep gravelly voice that makes her spine tingle, he says, "Why do you help me?"

**-oOo-**

"You were gonna _eat_ me?" she gasps.

"I had just wakened. I did not know you had helped me."

"And do all… Wraith? Do all Wraith shoot first and ask questions later?"

The Wraith had just given her a potted biology lesson about his species and she was on the back foot, hoping she could give him a good enough reason not to suck the life out of her right here and now. "Do you need to feed right now?"

"I am weak."

"Okay, look, can you wait a couple of hours? If you can wait till I drive into town and back... I mean, I'll bring someone… I'll bring you food…"

"I can wait."

**-oOo-**

It's dark again by the time Babs finishes burying the dried out corpses in the desert outside her trailer. It had been surprisingly easy to pick up the two sleazebags and they came with her to her trailer like lambs to the slaughter at the prospect of free sex. They got more than they bargained for. She climbs back into the trailer and rummages in the fridge, cursing because it's empty, as usual. She swore she had some eggs.

She jumps when the Wraith sneaks up behind her and she spins round to face him and grips the edge of the kitchen countertop behind her.

"Eat," he says, holding a plate of food out to her. It smells good. "You fed me," he says by way of explanation.

"Wraith can cook?" she says incredulously.

"I learned it from that tutor," he says, pointing to the TV in the corner. "While you were digging."

"Well, looks like TV's good for something," she says and eats the eggs hungrily.

"Do you have a name?" she asks him as she eats. He simply tilts his head to the side again. "No name, okay. My name's Babs. When I found you, you reminded me of someone, so I'm gonna call you Spike. Is that okay?"

"Spike. Okay."

"You're sure a fast learner, Spike."

**-oOo-**

Days turn into weeks and Babs has gotten quite good at luring sleazebags back to the trailer for Spike. She's running out of places to bury the bodies, though.

"I can't keep doing this forever, Spike."

"I know. I must get back to my hive. I can send them a signal but there is equipment I need to repair the dart communicator. You can get these?" He hands her a list of hardware and computer components.

"This'll let you fix the bits we dug up from the crash site?"

"Yes, can you get them?"

"I'll try."

**-oOo-**

"Does it work? How will you know if they get the signal? Will they signal you back to let you know they're coming for you? Will they come here? Will I see the hive, is it huge?"

"So many questions."

"I'm just interested, and…"

"And?"

"Well, you know, once you've gone home there'll be no more dried out bodies to bury in the yard – what will I do with all that spare time? I've gotten to kinda like you, Spike… I'll miss you."

"How much?"

"What?"

"Enough to come with me?"

Babs simply sits and stares open mouthed and speechless at Spike.

**-oOo-**

"Wow! You never told me Wraith could do _that_!" Babs flops over onto her back, breathless and sweaty and naked. "So these human females you guys keep on your hive… what are they, like packed lunches or something?"

"No, that would be the human males held in hibernation in the cargo holds."

"I can never tell whether you're joking or not," she says, laughing.

He rolls onto his side and props himself up on his elbow, looking down at her. She finds herself thinking she can never get enough of looking at this beautiful alien man – and now she's done more than just look!

"They are worshippers, lovers. They are there because they want to be with us."

"Oh," Babs says with a grin of understanding. "Like me."

"Yes, like you." Spike strokes his clawed hand down the length of her stomach and she shivers. "Come with me. I can show you so many wonders in the Pegasus galaxy… things you never even dreamed of."

"Well, when you put it like that…" she says and reaching up she wraps her fingers in his long white hair and pulls his head down to kiss him.

**-oOo-**

"Damned military!" she yells. "They must have picked up your signal. I bet they're from over the valley in Area 51. Well, you're one alien they ain't gonna get their hands on! Have you got anything from that dart thing to deal with fighter planes?" Without waiting for an answer, Babs yanks the heavy lid off the box on the floor and gasps at the guns – and something that looks like a rocket launcher! "That'll do it!" she grunts as she heaves the long barrelled gun from the box and staggers out of the trailer under the weight of it.

"I will help you!" Spike shouts over the noise of the approaching bombers.

"No!" Babs hollers. "I can do this – you get the signal out!"

Babs heaves the launcher onto her shoulder and squints down the sights, lining up the two planes as they come barrelling through the sky straight for the trailer and Spike. She pulls the trigger. The blast in her ear is deafening and she's thrown off her feet several yards backwards. When she lands with a thud on the hard desert ground, she sees the planes burst into flames directly above her. As she loses consciousness she prays Spike got the signal to his hive.

**-oOo-**

Babs regains consciousness somewhere very strange indeed. She sits up to look around and immediately, Spike moves across the room and helps her to stand.

"You are on my hive," he tells her. He's wearing a heavy leather overcoat like the one she found him. It suits him. Then she sees another Wraith standing in the corner.

"This is my Commander," Spike says by way of introduction.

The other Wraith bows very slightly toward her. When he speaks his gravelled voice is even deeper than Spike's. "I appreciate the assistance you gave my crew member while he was lost on your planet. He tells me you kept him hidden and fed and helped him to send his signal to us."

The Commander waves his hand in front of a panel in the wall and the door opens. "He tells me that you expressed a desire to join us as one of our worshippers…" the Commander falters, as if waiting for her to confirm this, although Babs reckons it's probably too late to change her mind now! She just smiles up at him without speaking.

"Unfortunately we had to drop off our usual compliment of female worshippers in case we had to engage in battle," the Commander tells her as they walk out into the corridors. "It will take several weeks for us to get back to the planet we left them on. In the meantime you are the only female on board the hive, I am afraid."

The Commander smiles at her. "You may find yourself… quite popular with my crew…"

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
